THE PRESIDENT: Nellie, thank you very much. I appreciate the invitation
to speak. I'm calling from Manhattan, Kansas. (Applause.) Sounds like
you got some good folks from Kansas there. (Applause.) I want to thank
everybody there -- if you're from Kansas, or anywhere else in our country,
for your devotion to such a noble cause.

You believe, as I do, that every human life has value, that the strong have
a duty to protect the weak, and that the self-evident truths of the
Declaration of Independence apply to everyone, not just to those considered
healthy or wanted or convenient. These principles call us to defend the
sick and the dying, persons with disabilities and birth defects, all who
are weak and vulnerable, especially unborn children. (Applause.)

We're making good progress in defending these principles, Nellie, and you
and I are working together, along with others, to build what I've called a
culture of life. One of my first acts as the President was to ban the use
of taxpayer money on programs that promote abortion overseas. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for getting that ban on partial-birth abortion to
my desk, a bill I was proud to sign -- (applause) -- and a law which we are
going to defend -- and are defending -- vigorously in our courts. Because
we acted, infants who are born despite an attempted abortion are now
protected by law. Thanks to "Laci and Conner's Law," prosecutors can now
charge those who harm or kill a pregnant woman with harming or killing her
unborn child, as well. (Applause.)

There's more work to be done. The House has passed a bill to ensure that
state parental involvement laws are not circumvented by those who take
minors across state lines to have abortions. And the United States Senate
needs to pass this bill so I can sign it into law. (Applause.)

We also must respect human life and dignity when advancing medical science,
and we're making progress here, as well. Last month, I signed a pro-life
bill supporting ethical treatment and research using stem cells from
umbilical cord blood. I also renew my call for Congress to ban all forms
of human cloning. Because human life is a gift from our Creator and should
never be used as a means to an end, we will not sanction the creation of
life only to destroy it.

By changing laws we can change our culture. And your persistence and
prayers, Nellie, and the folks there with you, are making a real
difference. We, of course, seek common ground where possible; we're
working to persuade more of our fellow Americans of the rightness of our
cause. And this is a cause that appeals to the conscience of our citizens,
and is rooted in America's deepest principles -- and history tells us that
with such a cause, we will prevail.

Again, Nellie, thank you for letting me come to speak to you. Tell
everybody there that I ask for God's blessings on them and their families,
and, of course, may God continue to bless our grand country. (Applause.)